The Attorney General's Guidelines for Domestic FBI Operations

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S GUIDELINES FOR DOMESTIC

FBI OPERATIONS

PREAMBLE

These Guidelines are issued under the authority of the Attorney General as provided in sections 509,510,533, and 534 of title 28, United States Code, and Executive Order 12333. They apply to domestic investigative activities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other activities as provided herein.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

.A FBI RESPONSIBILITIES .FEDERAL CRIMES, THREATS TO THE

NATIONAL SECURITY. FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

.B. THE FBI AS AN INTELLIGENCE AGENCY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

C OVERSIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

I. GENERAL AUTHORITIES AND PRINCIPLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

A. SCOPE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

BDC...

GENERAL AUTHORITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

USE OF AUTHORITIES AND METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

NATURE AND APPLICATION OF THE GUIDELINES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

I1.

INVESTIGATIONS AND INTELLIGENCE GATHERING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

.A ASSESSMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

.B PREDICATED INVESTIGATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

.C ENTERPRISE INVESTIGATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

.I11 ASSISTANCE TO OTHER AGENCIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

.A THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

.B FEDERAL AGENCIES GENERALLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

.C. STATE, LOCAL. OR TRIBAL AGENCIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

D FOREIGNAGENCIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

E. APPLICABLE STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

IV. INTELLIGENCE ANALYSIS AND PLANNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

ABC...

STRATEGIC INTELLIGENCE ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

REPORTS AND ASSESSMENTS GENERALLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

. V. AUTHORIZEDMETHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

A PARTICULARMETHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

.B. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

C OTHERWISE ILLEGAL ACTIVITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

. VI. RETENTION AND SHARING OF INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

A RETENTION OF INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

B. INFORMATION SHARING GENERALLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

C. INFORMATION RELATING TO CRIMINAL MATTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

.D INFORMATION RELATING TO NATIONAL SECURITY AND

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE MATTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

VII. DEFINITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

INTRODUCTION

As the primary investigative agency of the federal government, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has the authority and responsibilityto investigate all violations of federal law that are not exclusively assigned to another federal agency. The FBI is further vested by law and by Presidential directives with the primary role in carrying out investigationswithin the United States of threats to the national security. This includes the lead domestic role in investigating international terrorist threats to the United States, and in conducting counterintelligence activities to meet foreign entities' espionage and intelligence efforts directed against the United States. The FBI is also vested with important h c t i o n s in collecting foreign intelligence as a member agency of the U.S. Intelligence Community. The FBI accordingly plays crucial roles in the enforcement of federal law and the proper administration of justice in the United States, in the protection of the national security, and in obtaining information needed by the United States for the conduct of its foreign affairs. These roles reflect the wide range of the FBI's current responsibilities and obligations, whch require the FBI to be both an agency that effectively detects, investigates, and prevents crimes, and an agency that effectivelyprotects the national security and collects intelligence.

The general objective of these Guidelines is the full utilization of all authorities and investigative methods, consistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States, to protect the United States and its people from terrorism and other threats to the national security, to protect the United States and its people from victimizationby all crimes in violation of federal law, and to further the foreign intelligence objectives of the United States. At the same time, it is axiomatic that the FBI must conduct its investigations and other activities in a lawful and reasonable manner that respects liberty and privacy and avoids unnecessary intrusions into the lives of law-abiding people. The purpose of these Guidelines, therefore, is to establish consistent policy in such matters. They will enable the FBI to perform its duties with effectiveness, certainty, and confidence, and will provide the American people with a firm assurance that the FBI is acting properly under the law.

The issuance of these Guidelines represents the culmination of the hstorical evolution of the FBI and the policies governing its domestic operations subsequent to the September 11,2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. Reflecting decisions and directives of the President and the Attorney General, inquiries and enactments of Congress, and the conclusions of national commissions, it was recognized that the FBI's h c t i o n s needed to be expanded and better integrated to meet contemporary realities:

[Clontinuing coordination . . .is necessary to optimize the FBI's performance in both national security and criminal investigations . . . . [The] new reality requires first

that the FBI and other agencies do a better job of gathering intelligence inside the United States, and second that we eliminate the remnants of the old "wall" between foreign intelligence and domestic law enforcement. Both tasks must be accomplished without sacrificing our domestic liberties and the rule of law, and both depend on building a very

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